08TBILISI1163, A/S KRAMER MEETINGS WITH OPPOSITION, PUBLIC

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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TBILISI 001163
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR DRL AND EUR/CARC
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/26/2018
TAGS: PRELPGOVPHUMKDEMGG
SUBJECT: A/S KRAMER MEETINGS WITH OPPOSITION, PUBLIC
DEFENDER, CIVIL SOCIETY, AND JUDICIAL REFORM ADVOCATES
Classified By: Ambassador John F. Tefft for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
¶1. (C) Summary and Comment: On June 25, Assistant Secretary
of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) David J.
Kramer and the Ambassador met with the Public Defender,
Georgian opposition leaders, civil society and those involved
in judicial reforms to discuss the state of human rights
conditions in Georgia. The opinions of the first three
groups converged on the government's over-centralization of
power, perceived lack of media freedom, intimidation of
opposition activists before and after the Parliamentary
elections, and the government's focus on implementing reforms
rather than including a variety of views. The common threads
of opinion between the groups unraveled over the fairness of
Parliamentary elections with Joint Opposition party
representatives alleging the Parliamentary election results
were not legitimate and International Society for Fair and
Democratic Elections and Transparency International
Representatives noting that while the process was not
perfect, the Parliamentary results were greatly improved over
the Presidential elections. Regardless of the group, all
would like more dialogue with the government in formulating
policy, although some groups are withdrawing from the
political process. The interlocutors urged the United
National Movement UNM) to do more to build a strong
multi-party Parliament. A/S Kramer noted the troubling
consolidation of television broadcasting in Georgia and
agreed to raise the issue with key GoG officials. Judges and
members of the Georgian Bar Association talked about recent
reforms, but acknowledged that public trust in the judiciary
is still quite low. End Comment and Summary.
-----------------------------
Public Defender--Sozar Subari
-----------------------------
¶2. (C) Subari began by describing his cool relationship with
the Saakashvili administration, which got off to a rocky
start in 2004, just after he assumed office, when he openly
supported the return of Georgians from Russia through South
Ossetia, which the government portrayed as breaking
immigration laws. As he sees it, his strained relations with
the Saakashvili government afford him little room for
maneuver, as he has few strong allies or friends within the
government. Subari stated his appreciation for the U.S.
Embassy and the international community's help bringing to
light some of the tough human rights questions in Georgia.
Since he took office in 2004, Subari's focus has been on
reducing the instances of use of excessive force by police
and maltreatment of detainees in prisons. He has recently
focused attention on addressing the cases of 16 people who
were beaten after May 21 Parliamentary elections, urging the
government to take a more active role in investigating the
incidents. Subari has effectively used the media and has
received extensive media coverage of his activities. A/S
Kramer commended him for his good work and encouraged him to
reach out and build consensus with UNM members to help him
have more impact in addressing human rights concerns.
------------------
Opposition Parties
------------------
¶3. (C) Representatives from the Joint Opposition,
Christian-Democratic Movement, the Republicans and Labor
Parties all shared the view that the government acted
improperly during both elections, abandoning democratic
reforms and consolidating power. Giorgi Targamadze,
Christian-Democratic Movement, (whose party won eight percent
in May and entered Parliament) said that Saakashvili has
consolidated all political power under his control. He
claimed a free media no longer exists on television and urged
the U.S. to restore media and democracy assistance programs
like those in the late 1990s, to foster new leaders.
Targamadze, in contrast to the others, said his party joined
Parliament in order to try and effect positive change within
the system. The party representatives were concerned by
recent beatings of party activists, and voiced frustration at
the government's failure to address these incidents
seriously. (Comment: The Prosecutor General's Office said
they are investigating four cases, but the others lacked
sufficient evidence. End comment.) Party leaders
acknowledged that the Joint Opposition is now worse off than
it was in September 2007 due to mistakes during both election
campaigns and the interim negotiations with the government.
They asserted that the international community erred by not
understanding the ruling party's intent to consolidate power.
Democratic and human rights, in their minds, are being
diminished and the international community appears to be more
concerned with stability than with freedom.
TBILISI 00001163 002 OF 002
-------------
Civil Society
-------------
¶4. (C) Topics at the civil society dinner, attended by
representatives from Transparency International,
Caucasus
School of Journalism, Penal Reform International, Georgian
Young Lawyers (GYLA), International Society for Fair and
Democratic Elections (ISFED) and Liberty Institute, spanned
the Human Rights continuum, but primarily focused on the
following: media freedom issues, lack of pluralism in
decision making, and the psychology of Georgian character
which seems to preclude compromise in politics for fear of
appearing weak. Most admitted the government has made
impressive strides in reforming the police, stamping out
corruption, and promoting religious freedom, but pointed out
that other areas are either being ignored or undermined.
They characterized diversity and editorial independence of TV
media as diminished, due to consolidation of ownership of
national channels. Nino Danelia, Caucasus School of
Journalism, attributed the pressure on journalists as a
result of market pressure on owners rather than pressure from
the government. She went on to say that some media outlet
owners are linked to the ruling party, which pressures
journalists to find "sound bites" to support government
programs. This has the overall affect of lowering standards
for journalists. All agreed that although print journalism
may be considered the most "free", less than five percent of
the population reads the papers, which are not sold by
subscription. For the moment, television stations tend to
reflect the editorial policies of their owners and talk shows
typically feature politicians screaming at each other or at
journalists.
¶5. (C) Members of the group discussed the critical
necessity of compromise in pluralism, but maintained this
idea is absent in the Georgian psyche. Georgians want a
"macho" leader and compromise to them wreaks of weakness.
ISFED noted that if initially Levan Gachechiladze, Joint
Opposition, had approval ratings in the 40th percentile in
January, they fell to the teens by May because he
miscalculated how to fulfill the archetype "macho" image.
His key misstep was when he began to use obscene language
with female journalists and to talk about Nino Burjanadze in
vulgar terms, which turned key supporters against him.
According to the ISFED rep, being "macho" means being tough,
but not vulgar, and especially not with women. The GYLA rep
pointed out that David Usupashvili's willingness to reach out
to the UNM and work as a bridge between the majority and
opposition was what cost him eventually his Parliament
seat--dialogue to some, equals "loser."
---------------
Judicial Reform
---------------
¶6. (C) The Deputy Supreme Court Justice recounted judicial
reforms made in Georgia during the last years, underlining
the watershed last year of the passage a law banning ex parte
communications and citing statistics to show that the number
of those judged guilty who receive imprisonment (44 percent)
is significantly lower than before, due to the use of bail
and plea bargaining. He did not refute A/S Kramer's
observation that public perception of the judiciary is very
low, but explained that the state is very young and those who
are part of the judiciary are still acquiring the skills
needed to operate in an independent state. David Lanchava, a
defense attorney and member of the Georgian Bar Association
(GBA), asserted that the progress of reforms in the
Prosecutor's Office and the patrol police were successful due
to strong reformers at the top, namely Zurab Adeishvili and
Vano Merabashvili. This is missing in the judiciary.
Lanchava voiced his opinion that the changes in the law have
weakened the role of the advocates (defense lawyers) at the
expense of the prosecutors. He went on to say that in his
experience 90 percent of judges are knowledgable and are not
corrupt, but they need to be bolder in their decision making
role. Medea Dematrashvili, Ethics Committee, GBA, added that
much has been done to address ethical behavior--legislation,
training--but so far it has not solved the problem in its
entirety.
¶7. (U) A/S Kramer did not have the opportunity to clear
this cable.
TEFFT

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